Aesop's Olympic Fables

It's always inspiring to watch the finest athletes in the world perform at the Olympic Games, as we are doing this August. But we can also learn a lot from them — about preparation, about racing the big one, and about life. We present here some iconic stories from past Olympics and the morals they might hold for every runner.

The Hares & the Tortoise

Women's Marathon/Athens 2004

The race for gold in the women's marathon in 2004 was as fierce as the searing 95-degree Fahrenheit sun on that Athenian August day.

Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) pranced in front in her old fearless way, pulling most of the star-studded field of 82 women at ambitious speed in her wake. Many paid dearly, including Radcliffe, who folded in despair as tiny Mizuki Noguchi (Japan) escaped to win the gold from Catherine Ndereba (Kenya). For passion, drama and tragedy, it was an unforgettable race.

But there was another race, at another pace. It was dispassionate, downbeat and disciplined, yet equally unforgettable. An unranked 31-year-old American who had only recently converted from 10,000m, Deena Drossin Kastor, who in her own words "had never been close to winning a medal at a competition of this caliber," calmly let all the eager hares go, and ran her own carefully calibrated tortoise race. The foolish might say she was dull and negative, failing to rise to the Olympic challenge. "The first 10K was at warm-up pace. I felt completely fresh at the halfway point. I saw a lot of girls stumbling off the road, throwing up, on intravenous drips," Kastor said.

Gradually, relentlessly, never losing control, she moved up the field — 23rd at 10K, 12th at halfway — passing one by one a struggling catalog of great women marathoners who had all gone out too fast. Entering the stadium, Kastor thought she was fourth, until the announcer called her as third. At which point she lost her cool control for the first time that long, epic day, "burst into tears, and ran hysterically round the track," she says, to earn the bronze medal. "Hysterically," maybe, but look at the footage — she was a killer. This tortoise knew exactly when to turn into a cheetah.

# 01 Aesop's Moral: Patience and pace judgment are still more important for most runners than speed and aggression. Even-pace or negative splits by steady tortoises will almost always defeat the fast-starting hares.

The Hare Who Changed Her Spots

Women's Marathon/Beijing 2008

Constantina Dita was famous as the tearaway crash-and-burner, the compulsive front-runner, the thoughtless hare thrashing herself into a big lead, never remembering the price she inevitably paid from 30K on.

She was the reckless loner. "I don't care what the other girls are doing," the Romanian told Running Times in 2005. Her resilience was legendary, but it brought her mostly a string of courageous seconds and thirds.

Then one day Dita tried something different — the day of the women's marathon at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Her coach (and ex-husband) convinced her this time to wait. And she did, despite the unaccustomed crowd of the huge pack, jogging at ultracautious pace, reaching halfway in 1:15:11, her slowest for a decade. At Chicago in 2006 she had gone through the half in 1:08, and finished fifth. Her norm was 1:09-1:11. So at 1:15, "The first half, I feel nothing," she said. At that point, she moved, but gradually, not a dramatic surge that might have alerted others to the challenge. In one of the most extraordinary hours in modern running, Dita simply slipped away, slowly building a lead of more than a minute, while the pack trundled on. Some of them discounted her — she was too old at 38, she had blown apart too often, she wasn't a contender. Others simply didn't notice that she had gone (I quote — though it's an astounding confession to make about an Olympic race).

She won the race between 15 and 22 miles, piling on the lead when the others were still dozing. When they started the chase, it was too late. Dita had only 10 miles of serious effort in her legs. They slashed nearly a minute off her lead, but she still won (2:26:44) by 22 seconds.

# 02 Aesop's Moral: Each race is a new drama, and a new script, and you are the one who must write it. Know your strengths, but don't be too predictable. If you have been using a race strategy that doesn't work, change it.

The Bad Appendix

Men's Marathon/Tokyo 1964

Approaching the 1964 Olympic marathon in Tokyo, Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia) was in peak form to defend the title he had won so memorably in Rome in 1960.

But during a training run only 40 days out from the race, he suffered severe internal pain and collapsed. Acute appendicitis was diagnosed, and he had immediate surgery in Addis Ababa. Despite jogging as soon as he was able during recovery, Bikila's whole preparation was seriously disrupted. He had barely a week of real running, and was written off as a factor in the talent-stacked Olympic race.

But the performance he produced has become legendary. He dominated the race with a serene confidence, and won by a phenomenal 4 minutes 8 seconds, in a world-record 2:12:11.2 — arguably the greatest Olympic marathon of all time.

# 03 Aesop's Moral: It's the training in the bank that matters. You will not lose it in a week or so of enforced rest. When you are in shape, it is often possible to deal with a last-minute problem. A flu can pass quickly, or you can even come through surgery, as Bikila did, and Joan Benoit Samuelson did in 1984. You might even benefit from the enforced rest, as they almost certainly did. Don't panic or fret. Don't write yourself off too soon. The only true certainty in running is that you will not run well if you're not in the race.

Addendum: The Broken Foot

Men's Marathon/Mexico City 1968

Shortly before the 1968 Olympic marathon, which in the altitude of Mexico City might well have been his third victory, Abebe Bikila suffered a broken foot.

He started the race but had to withdraw, and watched his lesser teammate Mamo Wolde win.

# 04 Aesop's Moral: No one can win 'em all, not even Bikila. Life isn't interested in perfect stories. No one is invulnerable. Sometimes you get hurt. That's part of the sport.

The Woman Who Kept It Tough

Women's 10,000m/Barcelona 1992

When Elana Meyer (South Africa) blazed away in the middle of the women's 10,000m in 1992, only Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia) could go with her, and eventually outkicked her.

The race looked over for favorite Liz McColgan (Great Britain), Lynn Jennings (USA) and others. But instead of fading, McColgan and Jennings fought on, and with 300 meters to go, Jennings unleashed her sprint and pushed herself to the limit, right through the finish.

In the fervor of the stadium, Jennings was unaware that China's Huandi Zhong was poised on her shoulder all the way round those last 300 meters, ready to seize the bronze medal if Jennings relaxed for even a second. "When I saw Zhong right there after I crossed the line, I was stunned. Then I realized I had actually earned the medal," says Jennings. It was the USA's first Olympic medal in a women's track distance race, and it was earned by 100 percent application for 100 percent of the distance.

# 05 Aesop's Moral: The finish is at the finish line, not 10 yards before you get there. Never slow early if you want to keep the finish position you have earned. You never know who's lurking to lift your award or your place in the final. When you want to ease up, think, "Do it like Lynn!"

The Man Who Tried Again

Men's 1500m/Moscow 1980

Sebastian Coe was primed for his first Olympic final in Moscow in 1980.

In 1979 he had broken three world records (800m, 1500m, mile), and in 1980 added the 1,000m. But also in Moscow was Coe's rival and nemesis, the more extroverted Steve Ovett. In the first final, Coe's specialty 800m, he clutched, running too far back, too wide, and moving into top gear too late to catch the flying Ovett. His coach (his father Peter) told him bluntly, "You ran like an idiot." Coe was devastated, and friends said he was on the brink of giving the sport away.

But in the 1500m, supposedly a lock for Ovett, it was Coe who was totally focused, shadowing East Germany's aggressive Jurgen Straub a few yards back, and moving with precision timing through the top gears of the "five-pace training" he had practiced to perfection. Four years later, Coe won the Olympic 1500m again, running a sublime race, the only repeat champion in that most prestigious of events. This year, as Lord Coe, he is chairman of the London Olympics Organizing Committee and a vice president of the IAAF.

# 06 Aesop's Moral: If at first you don't succeed, try again, and again, and again.

The Scientist Who Knew Too Much

Men's Marathon/Munich 1972

Ron Hill, a Ph.D. in textile chemistry, is a good scientist as well as a great marathon runner.

One of the favorites for the 1972 Olympic marathon in Munich, Dr. Hill scientifically planned every detail — his training, his travel, his shoes, his specially designed apparel for whatever the weather conditions might be, his haircut, and his biochemically researched hour by hour schedule of carboloading nutritional intake.

But something happened that no one could have planned for — the murderous terrorist attack on Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village that caused the whole games program to be delayed by one day. Hill's meticulous tapering and diet were suddenly mistimed. He lost confidence, and ran badly, finishing sixth — 7 minutes slower than his best time of 2:09:28.

Hill was 4 minutes behind winner Frank Shorter, who we now know learned early in life to handle and internalize terror, in his case inflicted by a violent father. Shorter stayed calm in the crisis that upset Hill's precision preparation.

# 07 Aesop's Moral: Prepare carefully but never too rigidly. Always leave room for the unexpected — like a traffic hold-up on the way to the event, unexpected intestinal distress, a hot day (think Boston 2012), a delayed start, or a fall in the race. Above all, stay calm and focused when the unexpected happens.

The Man Who Cut the Course

Men's Marathon/St. Louis 1904

Fred Lorz of New York was a for-real marathon runner, one of the best of his era.

He trained hard at nights after long workdays as a bricklayer, and in April 1903 and 1904 he placed fourth and fifth in the Boston Marathon, at age 18 and 19. He was also known for his comic high spirits and humorous grandstanding, like the showboat finishes he staged for the crowds at Boston. So the roguish 20-year-old didn't take the 1904 Olympic Marathon too seriously, especially as the so-called games were merely tacked on to the St. Louis World's Fair.

The day of the marathon was fiercely hot, the course thick with dust, and many runners, including Lorz, gave up and took refuge in the convoy of new automobiles. After riding at least 11 miles, Lorz's high spirits were restored (or the car broke down — versions vary), and he jumped out and ran as race winner into the stadium and across the finish, enjoying the applause. For Lorz, it was a flamboyant joke. He pushed it to the point of being about to accept the winner's award from the wife of President Teddy Roosevelt, when the true winner staggered into sight. Lorz admitted immediately that he had not completed the course. He was banned, then reinstated, and went on to win Boston in 1905.

Although his prank was officially forgiven, it was never forgotten. Fred Lorz now and forever is remembered not as a Boston winner, or a blue-collar hero, but as an Olympic cheat, or at best a man of poor judgment and misplaced humor.

# 08 Aesop's Moral: Be remembered for achievement, not deceit or self-delusion. Running is a trusting sport, valuable in our devious world for its simple truthfulness. Some people have run a marathon, some haven't. Some have run their miles and times honestly, some have exaggerated them. It is not possible to succeed by shortcut.

As kids, Murray, Dave and Rosa were undersized and inept at ball games, and the other kids used to laugh at them for being so skinny.

Murray even tried playing rugby to bulk up, but suffered an injury that left one arm withered. Dave's family doctor was wiser and advised him to develop a different kind of strength by running. Rosa, as well as being tiny, suffered childhood sciatica and asthma, but she tried cross country running as a teen to relieve the sciatic pain. Murray, with his useless arm, also turned to running. In due course, thanks to their persistent training, Murray, Dave and Rosa all grew into supreme athletes. They all won an Olympic gold medal in races that will never be forgotten — Murray Halberg (New Zealand) the 5,000m at Rome in 1960, Dave Wottle (USA) the 800m at Munich in 1972, and Rosa Mota (Portugal) the marathon at Seoul in 1988. And they all ran happily ever after.

# 09 Aesop's Moral: Plenty of undersized ducklings grow into golden running swans. In running, it's no help to be a muscular giant. It's your legs, your heart, your lungs and your brain that need to be strong, not your pecs or your biceps. And talent shows at different ages. In children's races, the future Olympian may be back in 20th place. There's only one moral that matters in running — do the work.